Peak 10 to build new data center in Tampa

When IT infrastructure company Peak 10 opens a new 60,000-square-foot data center in north Tampa early next year, it won’t be a big job creator.

A company spokesman said the new location will require a workforce of eight to 10. But long-term jobs is not the main benefit an expanded Peak 10 will have for the Bay area’s economic development.

“Adding the center enhances our standing with data-intensive industries, like financial services, when they look at Tampa and Hillsborough County for potential relocation or expansion,” said Jennifer Mikosky, vice president of marketing and communications for the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp.

But one question lingers: Why would the physical location of a cloud services provider matter?

Peak 10 CEO Dave Jones, who was in Tampa to unveil the project, had this answer: “We don’t generally cluster businesses around our data centers. But what has happened in every market we build one is that about 70 percent of the customers tend to be within an hour of it. You would think when it comes to cloud computing, people wouldn’t care, but we still have our share of server huggers out there. That proximity definitely allows us to provide better customer service.”

The $11 million data center, the first that Peak 10 is constructing from the ground up, will be the Charlotte, N.C.-based company’s 26th such facility in the U.S., and the sixth in Florida. It will be located in the Hidden River Corporate Park near Fletcher Ave. and Interstate 75. When complete, the new location will bring Peak 10’s footprint in Tampa Bay to 129,000 square feet in three separate facilities.

Peak 10 is especially proud that the new building will be able to withstand winds up to 150 mph. “Our customers can go about taking care of their families knowing their data is secure in case of even the strongest hurricane,” said Jeff Biggs, executive VP of operations and technology.